Roasted Pumpkin, Feta & Spinach Salad

After a short summer break, I am back to share with you more of my favourite simple recipes. During the past weeks, I took the opportunity to test out some new recipes and also had the chance for a short holiday in Bavaria, Germany (more on this in an upcoming blog post).

It is still very warm here in Malta, and therefore we still tend to eat light, summery food. It is way too hot for a bowl of soup for me and therefore, I opt for alternative ways to enjoy the fresh produce as much as possible.

By this time, we start to have the early of the autumnal veggies like squash and pumpkin. These veggies are so versatile and can be incorporated in a variety of dishes. After the summer break, I decided to start again with a recipe that is super simple, however packed with flavour and healthy benefits… the Roasted Pumpkin, Feta and Spinach Salad! 🙂

The most time consuming bit of this recipe is to peel, chop and roast the pumpkin, which roughly takes 30 minutes. While the pumpkin is in the oven, you can prepare the dressing, chop the feta cheese and mix all remaining ingredients together. Simple as that! 😉

If you don’t have pumpkin, try it with butternut squash or sweet potato. Walnuts will also be a great addition to this salad instead of the pumpkin and sunflower seeds, adding an earthy taste and crunch to complement the sweetness from the main ingredient.

Directions

Chop the pumpkin into 1 inch cubes and place it into a baking dish. Toss it with olive oil and sprinkle the dried rosemary. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven, turn them around and bake for another 10 minutes until golden.

In the meantime, place all dressing ingredients in a small jar and shake. Set aside.

Chop the feta cheese into small cubes.

In a big salad bowl, mix together the spinach, rucola, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. Toss until well combined.

Add the feta cheese, pumpkin*** and the dressing and toss gently until everything is well dispersed.

Serve!

Notes:

Leave the feta cheese out for a vegan dish

**Use agave syrup for vegan recipe

***If you are serving this salad at room temperature, let the pumpkin cool completely before mixing it with the spinach and rucola. This ensures that the leaves does not wilt by the time the salad is served.